School strike: Pupils at Glenveagh special school to stay home during action

Pupils at a special school in Belfast are staying home for two weeks after Easter because many staff are on strike.

Glenveagh school has told parents it will be “disproportionately affected” by the strike.

Many of his classroom assistants are members of the Unite union, which will be active for 12 days from April 26.

The union said a 1.75% salary offer was a real cut in terms.

Inflation has recently risen to around 7% due to rising fuel and food prices.

Union members employed by the education authority, local councils and housing administration are to go on strike.

This follows a week-long walk-out in March.

The Ministry of Education has expressed its deep concern that some students will not be able to go to school during the strike.

Many students’ journeys to school will also be affected by actions by Translink bus drivers, who are members of the Unite and GMB unions, from Monday 25 April.

The department also said the strikes would pose “unique challenges” for special schools.

Almost all class assistants at Glenveagh Special School in Belfast are members of Unite.

During the previous campaign in March, the students could not receive face-to-face classes at school.

On Friday, parents received a letter from the school telling them this would be the case again for two weeks after the Easter holidays.

Unite members employed by the Board of Education are required to strike Tuesday, April 26 through Sunday, May 1 and Tuesday, May 3 through Sunday, May 8.

In a letter to parents, Anne Moore, director of Glenveagh, said they fully supported the staff’s right to strike.

“Glenveagh School remains disproportionately affected by the strike action compared to other schools,” the letter said.

“This is due to the far greater number of support staff who are members of Unite the Union coupled with the acute vulnerability of our students.

“These vulnerabilities mean they require a much higher staff-to-student ratio to ensure safe delivery than most other schools.”

She said almost all non-teaching staff at the school were going on strike and the school had “no choice” but to move to distance learning.

“We understand the importance of in-person school attendance for our students, but we simply cannot safely deliver in the circumstances,” the letter continued.

“We understand that this will cause significant disruption to our students and families.”

The letter also called on the education authority and unions to try to resolve “this very challenging situation”.

School transport for some students at other special schools will be affected by the strike, but Glenveagh is the only one of 39 to tell their students they cannot come to school.

Special schools tend to have many more classroom assistants than mainstream schools to meet the additional needs of many students.